A History of Pagan Europe

A History of Pagan Europe is the definitive study of the indigenous religions of Europe and their practices, beliefs and customs. Establishing Paganism as a persistent force in European history with a profound influence on modern thinking, Prudence Jones and Nigel Pennick divide Europe into five broad cultural areas and traces the expression and development of Pagan religion in each of them from earliest times to present day. From the serpent goddesses of ancient Crete to modern nature worship and the restoration of the indigenous religions of Eastern Europe, this wide-ranging book offers an often provocative new perspective of European history.

This is a book that was recommended to me, and I have to admit that it is one of the best scholarly texts on the history of European Pagan religions. Jones and Pennick trace the evolution of Pagan religions in Greece and Rome, the religions of the Celts, Paganism in Germany and the Balkans, and the current Pagan revival. Filled with concise information and illustrations which add to the content rather than distracting from it, I'm sure I'll be referring to this book again in the future.